B20 panel discusses hub for infrastructure framework

AUSTRALIAN business leaders are pitching "a global infrastructure hub" to G20 leaders to reduce red tape and get more projects in the pipeline.

Telstra chief executive David Thodey, during a B20 panel discussion at G20, said the hub would share best-practice information and facilitate initiatives to "more properly assess what has been commonly called investment ready investments or projects".

"Today there is no central repository of best practice or even a common framework for infrastructure proposals," he said.

"This has been a significant impact because it slows down project assessment and limits the spread of innovation and infrastructure planning and there's just no way for that money to flow to these projects because every time there's a new project there's a new risk assessment done.

"Productive infrastructure investments is really key to driving sustainable improvement in economic growth because it creates permanent, direct employment, both from the building of these infrastructure projects but also the ongoing operation.

"However productive infrastructure investment is hampered by lots of restrictive processes and regulations.

"And there's a lack of pipelines and momentum which are not bankable ready projects."